Which to use
“machine” is a noun and “maine” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,599
- “machine” frequency rank
- #8,880
- “maine” frequency rank
- 10479
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | machine | maine |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Engin, instrument propre à faire mouvoir, à tirer, lever, traîner, lancer quelque chose, ou à mettre en œuvre un agent naturel, comme le feu, l’air, l’eau, l’électricité, le gaz, ou toute source d’énergie afin de produire un résultat. | Grand. |
Letter map: machine vs maine
Shared letters muted; letters that set machine and maine apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: machine is anoun and maineanadjective. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10479, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
machine is recorded at frequency rank #1,599, classified as anoun, pronounced \ma.ʃin\. maine is at rank #8,880, tagged as anadj.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 10479, this pair ranks #412,830 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of machine vs maine
Shared letters: aeimn. Private to "machine": ch. Private to "maine": -.
"machine" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "maine" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "machine" and "maine" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "machine" or "maine"?
What to do next
You've compared "machine" and "maine". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "machine" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maine" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #412,830 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "machine" and "maine" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maid vs maine". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.